Three
Arrested for Allegedly Stealing More than
$800,000 From State of New Jersey by Filing
Fraudulent Tax Returns

TRENTON – Attorney General Stuart
Rabner and Division of Criminal Justice
Director Gregory A. Paw announced that three
people were arrested yesterday and charged
with theft by deception for allegedly stealing
$827,000 by filing fraudulent state tax
returns.

According
to Director Paw, the following individuals
were arrested early yesterday morning, when
investigators from the Division of Criminal
Justice and the New Jersey Division of Taxation,
assisted by officers from the Lyndhurst
Police Department, executed a search warrant
at an apartment on Second Avenue in Lyndhurst:

Rosa
Victoria Rivera,
a.k.a, Vicky Rocsana Rivera-Peralta, 39,
who lives in the apartment where the search
warrant was executed;

Each
of the three arrested individuals was charged
with second-degree theft by deception and
is being held at the Mercer County Jail
in lieu of $1 million bail, Paw said. The
arrests were the result of a joint investigation
by the Division of Taxation and the Division
of Criminal Justice.

An
audit by the Division of Taxation identified
540 fraudulent tax returns for which refund
checks were issued between Feb. 6, 2004
and July 11, 2006. The returns contained
similar taxpayer information, such as similar
names, common addresses and common employers.
About 400 of the returns were filed electronically
and the remainder were filed with paper.
Of the 540 refund checks, 276 checks, totaling
$826,974 were deposited in bank accounts.
The Division of Taxation was able to stop
payment on the remaining 264 checks, totaling
$1,005,030.

"This
is one of the biggest tax refund frauds
in state history," said Attorney General
Rabner. "These defendants allegedly
were so prolific in their fraudulent tax
filings that their greed caught up with
them. The Division of Taxation, working
in partnership with the Division of Criminal
Justice, identified hundreds of tax returns
containing similar elements of false taxpayer
information."

"This
is an example of our efforts to be vigilant
when it comes to enforcing our tax laws,"
said Maureen Adams, the acting director
of the Division of Taxation. "We will
continue to do all that we can to ensure
that taxpayers file appropriately and that
refunds are delivered only to those who
legitimately are entitled to receive them."

Nearly
$200,000 in cash and a computer were seized
at the apartment, along with blank Social
Security cards, tax forms and W-2 forms.
Several bank accounts of the defendants
containing a smaller amount of money were
seized, and a second search warrant was
executed at a self-storage site leased by
the defendants in Belleville, where additional
records were confiscated.

"Investigators
worked diligently to identify and assemble
the many pieces of this puzzle, leading
to the execution of arrest and search warrants,"
said Director Paw. "We will continue
to investigate this type of fraud and will
prosecute those responsible to the full
extent of the law."

Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000.
The investigation will be presented to a
state grand jury for potential indictment.
The charges are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.

The
investigation was led by Auditor Thaedra
Chebra of the Division of Taxation - Office
of Criminal Investigation and State Investigator
Noelle Holl of the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau.
The case is being handled for the Attorney
General by Deputy Attorney General Denise
Grugan and Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Terrence Hull, head of the Division of Criminal
Justice - Major Financial Crimes Bureau.